In every state, it is the responsibility of employers to provide their workers with a safe and secure environment. However, there are times when employers fail to perform their duty. Broken bones, worsening of the existing disorders, occupational illness or even psychological distress come under work injury.
There are also some types of workers which include independent contractors and railroad workers, who are not covered by workers’ compensation laws.
Every state has a different set of laws to deal with work-related injuries.
In this blog post, we have mentioned the workers’ rights when they are injured during work. To find answers to job-related injuries, keep reading.
Is Your Injury Work-Related?
Before filing any claim, it is important to know if your injury comes under work-related injury. To put it simply, any work-related injury is any kind of harm that happened to you while performing the task at the workplace. It is not necessary that it should be some company-owned property. This also includes parties, events or even picnics.
Other considerations that determine if your injury is work-related or not are:
- If the damage has occurred during a lunch break it does not come under work-related injuries. The exception to this rule is a cafeteria or any other structure that involves your employer in some way.
- If the alcohol offered in the work-sponsored event contributes to any kind of damage it comes under work-related injury.
- Any pre-existing condition aggravated at the workplace.
- Mental conditions that are constant on the job or resulted due to the workplace.
What Are Your Rights?
As mentioned above, the rights to the injured worker and the legal procedures vary in each state. According to the experts at Corban Gunn, Personal Injury Lawyer can help you understand your rights and duties to file a claim. They also suggest that you should report the injury within the few days of the mishap. Besides, there are some legal rights that are common in most states which include:
- After confirming that your injury is work-related you can file a claim in the worker’s compensation court or the state industrial court
- You can get medical treatment and have the right to see a doctor
- You can return to the work after the treatment, or suggested by your doctor to get back to the job
- If you are not able to come back to the workplace due to serious illness, you have the right to ask for disability compensation.
- In case of a disagreement with your employer, insurance company, or even the workers’ compensation court, you can appeal in the court about that decision.
- You have the right to hire a lawyer throughout the process.
You have the right to act. This means that you can refuse the request or offers. For instance, if you are offered by your employer to use your own health insurance or supply you with incentive to not file a claim, you have the right to deny the request and say no.
Now you have the idea about work – related illness and if you can file a claim or not. We suggest you get immediate medical attention and guidance of an attorney to review the claim. If your employer creates a hurdle in your way to file a case, there can be severe penalties on him/her. In such a case, you can easily file a compensation claim for that behavior.
